Nebraska football player Arik Gilbert was arrested and charged with burglary on Tuesday, according to the Lancaster County Department of Corrections.
Gilbert had been waiting for a decision from the NCAA on his waiver to be eligible to play this season for the Huskers. Recently, the NCAA has become stricter on allowing two-time transfers to play immediately as undergraduates. Gilbert spent one season at LSU before transferring to Georgia for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. Gilbert committed to Nebraska this offseason.
According to a Lancaster County police report, at around 2 a.m. LPD was dispatched to a report of a burglary at SJ's Liqour and Vape Shop at 2645 O Street. Upon arrival, officers saw a glass door had been shattered with large cement chunks from the parking lot. Officers saw Gilbert walking toward the exit carrying a bag. Officers arrested 21-year-old Gilbert without incident. He was taken to the Lancaster County Jail for burglary.
The total value of the stolen items in the bag was $1,672.07 and included a variety of vape products, Delta 8, cigars and lighters. Damages to the business were approximately $650.
According to a source, even if Gilbert had received his waiver from the NCAA, he still wasn't going to play in the season-opener at Minnesota this Thursday. The source also noted Gilbert hadn't been practicing with the first-team offense.
Gilbert, a massive athlete at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, was a five-star recruit and the No. 1-rated tight end in the Class of 2020. He enjoyed a stellar true freshman campaign at LSU. That season he caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns in eight starts, which earned him a spot on the Freshman All-SEC team.
RELATED >>> Matt Rhule comments on Arik Gilbert arrest, status
Despite the success in Baton Rouge, Gilbert transferred to Georgia following the season. It was in Athens where he was a member of two national title-winning teams, though he didn’t play in 2021 and only appeared in three games in 2022, catching two passes for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Earlier this month during fall camp, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule strongly defended Gilbert in his quest to gain immediate eligibility.
"I’m just gonna be really, really disappointed if he doesn’t get it,” Rhule said earlier this month. “He’s the most deserving young man (to get one). If he doesn’t get it, they shouldn’t even have the waiver. The NCAA should not even have the waiver if he doesn’t get it. But there’s a lot of parties involved, and there’s a lot of entities out there that don’t always have peoples’ best interests at heart.
"But Arik deserves it one hundred percent, in my humble opinion. The great thing about me is I’ve been through so much, I don’t care, I’ll say what I think. If he doesn’t get it, no one should and they should not have this waiver.”
From what offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has seen, Gilbert is a rare combination of size and speed.
“Very good kid, really gifted," Satterfield said in the spring. "Flashes at times when he does things, it’s mind boggling to be that big and to be able to move his body like he does. Really excited about where he’s going off the field and on the field.”
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